California State Teachers Retirement System v. Alvarez, No. 295, 2016 (Del. Jan. 25, 2018) -
This is an important decision clarifying the rules regarding the preclusive effect a dismissal of a derivative suit may have on a...more
Aloha Power Company LLC v. Regenesis Power LLC, C.A. 12697-VCMR (Dec. 22, 2017) -
This books and records decision addresses inspection rights granted under an LLC agreement. It also is useful as a reminder that a mere...more
Wilkinson v. A. Schulman, Inc., C.A. No. 2017-0138-VCL (Nov. 13, 2017) -
This decision has potential far-reaching consequences for shareholder-plaintiff litigation. As is well known, some entrepreneurial plaintiff-side...more
Salberg v. Genworth Financial Inc., C.A. No. 2017-0018-JRS (July 27, 2017) -
This is an important decision for its analyses implicating the Garner and Corwin rules. The Garner rule is that, under certain narrow...more
In re Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Delaware Derivative Litig., C.A. No. 7455-CB (Del. Ch. July 25, 2017) -
This is an important decision holding that just because one derivative litigation was dismissed for failure to overcome...more
Henry v. Phixios Holdings Inc., C.A. No. 12504-VCMR (July 10, 2017) -
This is the rare decision explaining when restrictions on stock transfers (permitted by Section 202 of the DGCL) can be enforced. While the statute...more
This decision resolved a matter of first impression: a plaintiff seeking corporate records under Section 220 of the DGCL must be a stockholder at the time he files his complaint to have standing. Thus, when a stockholder...more
When asked to choose the lead plaintiff and class counsel, the Court of Chancery applies the well-known Hirt factors. As this decision demonstrates, the Court also will place some significant weight on which of the competing...more
It is not enough that certain forward-looking statements failed to come true to justify requiring an inspection of corporate records. More evidence of wrongdoing is needed if your inspection is based on a theory of...more
Morris James attorneys Lewis Lazarus, Albert Manwaring and Albert Carroll authored an article published in Transaction Advisors titled Delaware Corporate and Commercial Case Law Year in Review – 2016. The article summarizes...more
This decision examines when pre-suit demand may be excused because the board who refused the demand declines to disclose the report of its investigation when responding. In this case, the board’s unwillingness to disclose the...more
In general, the bar is low for exercising inspection rights to investigate claims of wrongdoing. Plaintiffs need provide only some evidence to suggest a credible basis from which the Court can infer possible mismanagement or...more
This is an almost unprecedented decision to limit the inspection rights of a corporate director. Directors generally have “essentially unfettered” access to the corporate records to fulfill their fiduciary roles. ...more
This is the first decision examining the right to inspect the records of a Delaware Statutory Trust. Applying settled law from decisions in the LLP and LLC context regarding whether to read statutory and contractual...more
This decision holds that when stock issued is void, the recipient is not entitled to records inspection even if he is listed as a stockholder on the company's stock ledger....more
Delaware does hold that the dismissal of a derivative suit in another jurisdiction may preclude the prosecution of a similar derivative suit in Delaware. ...more
This is an interesting decision because it applies the demand rules in a derivative case to an odd situation — when some but not all of the board members have changed between when the challenged conduct occurred and when the...more
This is an interesting decision because it explains inspection rights in the LLC context under the two different standards set out in Section 18-305(a) and (b) of the LLC Act. As expected, it is better to seek inspection as a...more
This is a precedent-setting decision in the books and records context. In it, the Court imposes an “Incorporation Condition” on the stockholder’s inspection. That is, a stockholder who establishes a credible basis to inspect...more
This is one of those scarce cases dealing with director access to a corporation’s books and records. After all, Delaware law provides directors with an almost unlimited right to a corporation’s records needed for them to...more